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Glycan complexity dictates microbial resource allocation in the large intestine.


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Authors

Rogowski, Artur 
Briggs, Jonathon A 
Mortimer, Jennifer C 
Terrapon, Nicolas 

Abstract

The structure of the human gut microbiota is controlled primarily through the degradation of complex dietary carbohydrates, but the extent to which carbohydrate breakdown products are shared between members of the microbiota is unclear. We show here, using xylan as a model, that sharing the breakdown products of complex carbohydrates by key members of the microbiota, such as Bacteroides ovatus, is dependent on the complexity of the target glycan. Characterization of the extensive xylan degrading apparatus expressed by B. ovatus reveals that the breakdown of the polysaccharide by the human gut microbiota is significantly more complex than previous models suggested, which were based on the deconstruction of xylans containing limited monosaccharide side chains. Our report presents a highly complex and dynamic xylan degrading apparatus that is fine-tuned to recognize the different forms of the polysaccharide presented to the human gut microbiota.

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Keywords

Bacterial Proteins, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genomics, Humans, Protein Transport, Xylans, Zea mays

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

6

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/G016240/1)
This work was supported in part by grants to D.N.B. (BBSRC BB/G016186/1) and H.J.G. (Wellcome Trust WT097907AIA).